The album entered the British chart of 26 April and remained for two weeks, peaking at #61, and hit #69 in the US. The album is a tribute to the longest tour Hunter has ever been on and represents his 1970s repertoire, with a full on rocking set blending both Mott and solo classics, with a few twists, and clever rapport thrown in for good measure. It demonstrates how well Hunter and Ronson seamlessly worked live with a great and well-rehearsed band. The critics generally praised the effort.
A British promo in a limited edition scraped America's Top 100 chart. Chrysalis promoted a three-track video featuring Ellen Foley and the audio included Irene Wilde, Once Bitten Twice Shy, We Gotta Get Our of Here, and Slaughter on 10th Avenue. Additional promotion included a gig in April 1980 at the Rockpalast, the German music showcase. The set was recorded on 19 April at Grugahalle arena in Essen. The gig was released as Live at Rockpalast: The Ian Hunter Band featuring Mick Ronson in 2012.
A repackaging of Welcome to the Club in 1983 and 1994 as Ian Hunter Live addressed some of the issues of the original release. There were previously unreleased live takes and a bluesy ten-minute-plus version of When the Daylight Comes. On The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll there is a fun doo-wop middle eight, an introductory a cappella section, and as Ian introduced "a little bit of New York City toilet music."
Later, in May and June Hunter Ronson embarked on an American tour. but a big change was not long in coming. The pair was having fun but prior to the Dr. Pepper concert in New York, Mick announced he was leaving. The remaining gigs were canceled and the band folded.
Hunter assembled a new band for a video performance that was released as Ian Hunter Rocks. It was so hot Ian felt his knees buckle and had to leave the stage once to catch his breath. Then, at New York's Palladium Theater on 13 September Ian appeared at "The Party at the Palladium" charity concert for fellow musician Rick Derringer when he had his musical equipment stolen; the concert was released at King Biscuit Flower Hour presents Rick Derringer and Friends in Concert featuring a blistering Just Another Night and a medley of Mott and Ian solo songs.
In the interim before the next album, a new song, Lullaby, Hunter offered to Tommy Mandel for a Cleveland International charity album, Children of the World. More importantly, the non-political Ian agreed to play twelve charity concerts with Todd Rundgren in support of Congressman John Anderson who was an independent candidate in the 1980 US presidential election. Ian brought Tommy Mandel to join in Rundgren's assemblage billed as "An Evening with Todd Rundgren and Ian Hunter." The group played several of Ian's songs and covers. Ronson joined for a Cleveland concert. Hunter also gigged with Todd for a benefit for Vietnam Vets. Ian also appears in a 90-minute Rundgren film entitled The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect.
Hunter was at the top of his game and his last studio and live album demonstrated that he was on top of the rock business. Naturally, Chrysalis craved another studio LP to cash in on Ian's popularity. Hunter started recording Theatre of the Absurd, a title later abandoned but the title did reappear as a song later, in any case the next studio effort would both be a surprise for his fans but also shock Chrysalis.
Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
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